Brass Detail Adder by the National Cash Register Co.

- Item No.

Key Features

Item Details

Width:
9" Inches

Height:
22 1/4" Inches

Depth:
15 3/8" Inches

Period:
20th Century

Origin:
America

A beautiful detail adder cash register by the National Cash Register Co. of Dayton, Ohio. This fine register features a solid brass case decorated in the company's highly sought-after narrow scroll motif, and rests upon a fine wooden base. This particular machine, model #5, is a detail adder, and is one of the first registers NCR ever created. The detail adder allowed shopkeepers to accurately keep track of sales made during the day, as well as the number of sales made. The mechanism itself has two rows of numbered wheels. Each time a key is pressed, the lower wheel indexes one notch, and if it goes all the way around, the upper wheel also moves one space forward. At the end of the day, the store owner would have to look at each wheel and notate the numbers in the top and bottom rows and then add them together to see the daily sales. A separate counter kept track of the number of sales made, allowing the owner to further analyze the success of business that day. Then the proprietor would reset the wheels to zero by turning the rod at the side of the detail adder mechanism. NCR cash register's are one of the most desirable collectibles today, demanding great attention from both collectors of Americana and mechanical antique enthusiasts.

The plaque on the register is marked with the model number "5" and the serial number "344819" which, according to NCR records, dates this wonderful register to June, 1903.